A friend asked for some albums to download and I thought I’d share. It’s been a really fantastic year in music so far. Here are my picks:

• Buy a motorcycle - don’t run - to iTunes to download “What Did You Except From…” by The Vaccines. Easily the best thing of the year so far.

• The new PJ Harvey album “Let England Shake” is also a masterpiece. It’s a little less immediately likable and deals with some heavy stuff. It is NOT the same old “Polly Jean plays her guitar” crunchy stuff (which I loved) but it’s kind of amazing to hear her virtuosity take hold.

• The new REM album is a lot of fun. Not mind-blowing amazing, but a great treat if you’re a fan.

• There’s an album called “Diamond Mine” by a Scot called King Creosote and a Brit named Jon Hopkins. It’s this amalgam of like strummy guitars, glitchy tunes, and soaring vocals. Similar in vibe to the old Bon Iver album, although not wildly similar in sound. More similar in sound to like a slowed down version of Frightened Rabbit (who, if you don’t know, put out the terrific “Winter of Mixed Drinks” last year). I’ve taken to saying recently that “Glasgow is the new Cardiff” because about 10 years ago it seemed like all the new bands I liked were Welsh and now they’re all Scottish.

• The new Bon Iver album is good, but not great. Again, if you’re a fan, by all means…

• Mogwai writes a lot of 7 minute instrumental songs that sound like the end of the world and I love it. If that sounds up your alley, “Hardcore will Never Die, But You Will” is a great addition.

• The new Noah and the Whale album, “Last Night on Earth” totally works for me. It’s something of a not-quite-Dave-Matthews brand of frat rock meets Mumford and Sons, but like I said, it totally works. They’ve got a modern rock radio hit with “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” which is much better than it has any right to be with that title.

• My favorite new British pop rock band no one else has heard of is The Wombats. “Anti-D” is the best song.

• Also, Radiohead put out an album of basically acid jazz. It’s not “great” in any sense of the word, but it’s damn worth listening to.

• Finally, Iron and Wine and Death Cab for Cutie both put out great new Iron and Wine and Death Cab for Cutie albums. Like, that’s not so bad, ya know? David Bazan did the same thing - writing more songs about God without making “Christian rock” - but he’s a lot less well known. 2009’s “Curse Your Branches” is better but this year’s “Strange Negotiations” is great too.

Two last categories of recommendations

• It’s a 2010 album, but the Allo Darlin’ debut is fan-freaking-tastic. Better than the Vaccines, if a bit twee. In the same sphere, but more singer-songwriter-y, Emmy the Great put out a terrific album in 2009 called “First Love.” She’s got a new album dropping in the USA next month and it’s quite good, but not AS good.

• Get yourself an invite to Spotify. Free (with ads) streaming of basically “everything.” There are other similar services - the Skype guys made one called Rdio that I like - but Spotify is the new hot thing and will probably be the biggest since it has a significant free component. If you like exploring new music, the monthly subscription is worth it - $5 for unlimited, ad-free streaming on your desktop, another $5 to sync to the mobile app.

And finally, finally, the “TL;DR” version

1. “What Did You Expect From…” by The Vaccines
2. “Let England Shake” by PJ Harvey
3. “Diamond Mine” by King Creosote and Jon Hopkins
4. “Last Night on Earth” by Noah and the Whale
5. “The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch” by The Wombats

Skewed this list a little towards immediate “likability.”

OH! I have a veritable Steve Jobsian “one more thing!” You can get months worth of “Songs of the Day” right from this very website.

AND most of these tracks have been migrated to a BTP SOTD Spotify playlist as well.